


Tangled

by Full_Moon_Lover



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Disney, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fluff, I See The Light (Tangled Song), M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-02-26
Packaged: 2018-05-23 08:28:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6110803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Full_Moon_Lover/pseuds/Full_Moon_Lover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dan had been locked in his tower for eighteen years. He understood why his mother insisted he stayed there but he was desperate to see the lights released in the kingdom every year on his birthday. Just as he was giving up on ever getting to get out, a stranger literally stumbles into his life and he might just change everything…</p>
<p>Or the Tangled AU that no one asked for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A few days ago I posted that I might be writing a Phan Tangled AU so here it is! This is just the prologue and, if you know Tangled by heart, you’ll notice that it’s very similar to the beginning of the movie. The first chapter is already written so I can already tell you that there’ll be changes from then on when compared to the movie. A very big thanks to phanyler (on Tumblr) for being my beta and giving me some very useful suggestions!

This is the story of how I died. Okay, I’m just kidding. This is actually a really fun story, and to be completely honest with you, it isn’t even mine. This is the story of a boy named Dan and it starts, with the sun.

Once upon a time, a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens, and from this small drop of sun grew a magic golden flower. It had the ability to heal the sick and injured. A strange woman had made sure to keep it hidden from everyone, so that she could use its powers for herself without having to share with others.

 

Centuries passed. In a kingdom called Corona, there was a King and Queen who were expecting a baby. Unfortunately, the Queen got really sick and everyone knew that she didn’t have much time left to live. That’s when people usually start looking for a miracle or, in this case, a magic golden flower.

 

Instead of sharing the sun’s gift, the woman hiding the magic flower, Mother Gothel, horded its healing power and used it to keep herself young for hundreds of years. All she had to do was sing a special song.

 

_Flower gleam and glow,_  
_Let your power shine,_  
_Make the clock reverse,_  
_Bring back what once was mine,  
What once was mine. _

 

You get the idea. She sings and then turns young. Kind of creepy right?

 

Mother Gothel once made a grave mistake. She didn’t hide the flower properly, and the guards of the kingdom managed to find the magic golden flower. They uprooted it and took it to their queen, without realising that Mother Gothel had seen everything and intended to get what belonged to her at all costs.

 

The magic of the golden flower healed the Queen and gave birth to a healthy baby boy; a prince born with beautiful soft dark brown hair. I’ll give you a hint…that’s Dan. The King and Queen were elated. To celebrate his birth, the King and Queen launched a flying lantern into the sky. And for that one moment, everything was perfect.

And then that moment ended.

 

_Flower gleam and glow,_  
_Let your power shine,  
Make the clock- _

Mother Gothel sneaked into the King and Queen’s room. She was elated when she saw Dan’s hair glowing once she started singing, but her joy was not long lasting. The second she cut a piece of Dan’s hair to use for herself in place of the flower, the lock of hair lost its glow and turned back to Dan’s natural dark brown hair. Mother Gothel was furious.

 

Gothel stole the child and just like that was gone. The kingdom searched and searched, but they could not find the prince for deep within a forest, in a tower Gothel raised the child as her own. Gothel had found her new magic flower, but this time she was determined to keep it hidden.

 

“Why can’t I go outside?” a young Dan whined while Mother Gothel was brushing his hair.

 

“The outside world is a dangerous place filled with horrible selfish people. You must stay here, where you’re safe. Do you understand flower?” Mother Gothel said in explanation.

 

“Yes mummy.”

 

But the walls of that tower could not hide everything. Each year on his birthday, the King and Queen released thousands of lanterns in the sky in hope that one day their lost prince would return. And every year without fail, Dan made his way to the window of the tower and looked at all the bright lanterns lighting up the sky in the distance.


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is Chapter 1! As you can see, the story starts moving slightly away from the movie here. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it. 
> 
> Big thanks to phanyler on Tumblr for being my beta. This chapter would not have been what it is now without your suggestions and very constructive criticism.

It was a beautiful day in the kingdom of Corona, and Dan found himself staring wistfully out of the tower window, just like he did every other day. It was just fascinating to observe the kingdom that was so close to his tower yet so far considering there was no way for him to go out. 

 

Even though he understood his mother’s reasoning for wanting to keep him locked up in the tower, it was upsetting him more and more each day. He just wanted to walk around amongst the other people of the kingdom for one day. And be there when they released the lights Dan could see from his window on his birthday. Was that really too much to ask? 

 

He was extremely grateful towards his mother, because she kept him safe and protected from the world, and the only thing she asked in return was for him to sing to her occasionally. How could he feel bitter towards his mother after all that she had done for him? Sometimes Dan just wished that she would realise he wasn’t a little kid anymore. He was more than capable to handle himself enough to go out of the tower he had spent all his life living in. 

 

Dan had tried multiple times to broach the subject with his mum. He never said that he wanted to leave the tower permanently. He just wanted to see what life outside of it was like and to get to see the beautiful lights. Why couldn’t his mother understand that after eighteen years of living in the tower he was bored out of his mind? There was no space left on the walls for him to paint or draw on anymore. Not to mention that he was quickly losing inspiration on things he could draw. 

 

He was shaken out of his musings by his mother’s voice coming from outside the window. Dan sighed and moved away, preparing himself to sing. For years he had tried to understand the abilities of his voice and his hair. Why was it that every time he sung his hair started to glow and he managed to do things his mother never could? Like transporting his mother all the way from the ground up to his tower window? He had tried to ask once, but never dared to bring it up again once he saw how much it upset his mother. 

 

All he knew was that his mum always freaked out whenever he suggested he cut his hair. His dark brown hair was currently shoulder length and, even though Dan had learned in time that his hair wasn’t going to get longer than that no matter how much his mother tried, he wished he could cut it a little shorter. 

 

It took him a while, but he finally managed to get his mother inside the tower and he stopped singing, trying to catch his breath. He got his mother a chair and started preparing some tea for the both of them. You see, Dan had a plan. He was going to be the best son he could possibly be today and just before his mother left the tower, he was going to ask her to let him out of the tower for one night in order to see the lights. It just had to work. 

 

Dan did everything his mother asked him to. He made her tea just how she liked it, and offered her some biscuits he had made the previous day when he was bored. Then he listened to her complain about different people who had annoyed her during the week and made sure to nod in all the right places. Finally he sat down by her side and allowed her to brush his hair while he sung the song she had taught him when he was a young child. 

 

Once he was sure that his mother was completely satisfied, Dan prepared himself to ask the question that had been on his mind all week. “Mother...there’s something important that I need to ask you. Next week there’s going to be the lights again, the ones I watch from my window every year. I was wondering if this year you could take me to actually see them...outside of the tower. As a birthday present?” 

 

Dan could see the way his mother tensed up at the mention of the lights and instantly knew the chances of that happening were slim. He couldn’t give up though. He had done everything his mother had asked of him without complaint, and all he wanted was to see the lights he had dreamed about for eighteen years. After that he would go back to his tower and never ask to be let out again, but he needed to see those lights at least once. 

 

His mother moved closer to him, shaking her head. “My son, haven’t I always done everything I could to make sure you were safe and protected? Why can’t you understand that I can’t let you out of this tower? Nothing can hurt you in here, but the same cannot be said for outside of this tower. The outside world is full of selfish people who will stop at nothing to hurt you. You wouldn’t be safe out there, and you’d end up hurt. I wish you would stop insisting, and realise I’m only doing this for your own good.”

 

Dan could feel the guilt slowly creeping up on him. His mother was right. All these years she had done her best to keep him safe and away from the dangers of the outside world, and he kept insisting on going out into what his mother was trying to protect him from. How could he be so ungrateful? He just wanted to see the lights so badly that he sometimes stopped thinking about what his mother must feel like. 

 

“I understand, Mother, sorry I asked”, he said, not wanting her to keep thinking her son was being ungrateful. He would just have to settle for watching the lights from his window once again. 

 

Dan was never going to get to leave the tower, was he? 

 

***

 

With black hair and eyes that no one could quite pinpoint what colour they were, Flynn Rider was wanted by many. Unfortunately for them, he was an expert at manipulation and had only left broken hearts in his way. He was way too busy stealing and sneaking around for a relationship.

 

Flynn had been ecstatic when he was approached by two of the most well-known thieves in the kingdom to help him out. His mood only got better when they told him they needed help stealing the long lost princes’ crown from the castle. He’d had his eye on that crown for ages, but he knew that he’d never be able to get his hands on it by himself. It was way too protected, and he’d get caught before even getting close to it.

 

With the help of two of the most well-known thieves though, it was a completely different story. Flynn could almost feel it in his hands already. So he agreed to help them out and started thinking of ways he could get away with the crown once he stopped needing the other two. What can he say, Flynn wasn’t exactly known for sharing, and he had no intention of starting now. 

 

He wrapped the rope around his waist and opened the small window, getting ready to jump in. “You remember the plan right?” he asked the two thieves looking at him. “I’ll jump in and grab the crown and you pull me back up when I tug on the rope. As soon as I’m out, we make a run for it.” Flynn had to admit that he didn’t feel as confident as he sounded. Those two were idiots, and he was worried that they’d end up messing the whole plan. 

 

“No use worrying about it now,” he muttered to himself before jumping in. The two thieves gradually lowered him down until he could reach the crown. He quickly grabbed it and put it in his bag before the guards could turn around and notice him there. One of the guards happened to sneeze, and Flynn just couldn’t stop himself from commenting before tugging on the rope. “Allergies?” 

 

He instantly regretted it when all the guards stationed in front of the crown turned around and pointed their swords at him. Flynn desperately started tugging at the rope, hoping that those two idiots hadn’t already forgotten the plan. He was toast if they had. Thankfully, they started pulling him up before any of the guards’ swords could actually hit him and started making a run for it as soon as he was out. 

 

“Let’s get out of here before they catch up to us,” he yelled, making his way towards the forest. The forest was their safest bet ,since they knew it inside out, and it would make it harder for the guards to catch up to them. Flynn tried to think of ways he could ditch the two thieves running behind him while also staying far away from the guards but was coming up blank. Why couldn’t he have kept his mouth shut? They could have made it away from the castle before the guards even noticed the crown was gone, but he just had to make a smart comment, and now he had to figure out a way to ditch both guards and thieves.

 

They quickly made it to the outskirts of the forest and Flynn was about to make his way further in when he heard the shouting of the guards coming from a distance. They didn’t have much time before they caught up to them. He started running again and would have kept going if he didn’t see the ditch a few metres in front of him. Flynn came to a halt just before he could fall in and was about to let out a sigh of relief when he felt himself falling. The two idiots hadn’t seen the ditch and kept running, pushing them all in. 

 

Flynn stood up and winced when he felt a throbbing in his foot. “How the hell are two idiots like you the most known thieves of the kingdom? There’s no way we’re getting out of here and if the guards find us, we’re doomed,” he said, trying to keep his voice level. He looked around and tried to find some way for them to make it out of the ditch. He couldn’t help but smirk when he finally thought of something that would get him out as well as get rid of the two thieves. 

 

“You two need to lift me up,” he said, walking over to them. I’ll get out of the ditch and then pull you up after me. That’s the only way we’re going to get out of here without getting caught by the guards. Flynn could see that they were hesitant. They didn’t trust him one bit but they were smart enough to understand this was their only hope of escaping. 

 

“Fine, we’ll lift you up, but you need to give us the bag with the crown first. We don’t trust you, Rider, and we’re not as stupid as you seem to think we are. The second we lift you up you’re going to make a run for it without us, and we need the bag so you don’t do that,” one of them said, looking at Flynn with calculating eyes. 

 

Flynn frowned, not having expected them to figure it out. He had to admit that they were smarter than he had given them credit for, or at least smart enough to have figured out his attempt to ditch them. He’d have to give them the bag and then snatch it before he made it out. It was going to be way more work than he had set up himself for, but he knew that there was no way he was getting out of here without their help. 

 

He rolled his eyes then handed them the bag with the crown. “Fine take it, but I hope you know how hurt I am that you don’t trust me. Now lift me up so I can get us out before they find us,” he said and smirked when they both leaned down in order to lift him up. It took a bit of maneuvering and yelling, but Flynn finally managed to pull himself out, making sure to grab at the bag without the other two noticing.

 

One of the thieves lifted his hand as soon as Flynn had touched the ground, expecting to be pulled up as well. “Come on, help us out,” he said through gritted teeth when he noticed Flynn staring at them and doing nothing.

 

Flynn smirked, proud that his plan had worked so well. “I’d love to guys, but my hands are full,” he said, holding up the crown bag for them to see. He had to bite his lip to keep himself from bursting out in laughter when he saw the dumbfounded looks on their faces. “Don’t worry, you won’t be stuck in there for long. I’m sure the guards will love getting you out.” He made a run for it, hearing them curse him out from behind. 

 

He had to find somewhere to hide and fast. Those thieves were not going to hold up the guards for long, especially when they realised that they didn’t have the prince's crown. Flynn needed to find somewhere to lay low until he figured out what his next plan was going to be. He kept running until he came upon a part of the forest he had never been in before, and he started panicking. How was he supposed to find somewhere to hide if he had absolutely no idea where he was?

 

Flynn stopped to catch his breath and that’s when he noticed a clearing hidden behind some trees. Seeing no better option, he ducked and walked through it only to stare open mouthed at the tower that he found himself standing before. “What in the world is a tower doing in the middle of the forest?” he breathed out. “Perfect place to lay low for a few days before I make my next move.” He just needed to figure out a way to get inside since he couldn’t see any doors. 

 

In the end he came up with an idea that was so stupid it might just work. It was either that or get caught, so Flynn was willing to give it a try. He got two arrows from his bag and walked closer to the tower. “I’ll just stick the arrows in the wall every time and slowly make my way up,” he said to himself, getting ready for what might have been the craziest thing he had ever attempted. 

 

It took him way longer than he was comfortable admitting and in the end his arms hurt so much he could barely lift them an inch, but he finally made it into the tower. He quickly got out the bag with the crown and opened it, breathing out a sigh of relief at finding it still there. “Alone at last,” he said, looking at it in wonder. It was beautiful and would bring him in a fortune once he found someone to sell it to. 

 

The last thing he expected was to be hit in the head with a metal pan that caused him to end up sprawled over the floor. In his last few seconds of consciousness, there was only one thing running through his head.

 

What the hell had he gotten himself into?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you liked it! The reason that I posted Chapter 1 so soon after the Prologue was because I had already written. Chapter 2 is still a work in progress though so it will probably take me a little longer to post it. I'll try to figure out a posting schedule later on. 
> 
> Once again, thank you to phanyler on Tumblr for being my beta!
> 
> If you want to check out my other stories, have any questions or want to keep up to date with news regarding any story updates follow my Tumblr, fiction-phan

**Author's Note:**

> hope you like the Prologue of Tangled! Like I said, this is very similar to the beginning of the movie because I didn’t want anyone who might not have seen the movie to feel lost. Chapter 1 is already finished and edited so it will be out soon. Thanks again to phanyler (on Tumblr) for being my beta!
> 
> For more stories, questions or news on when I might be updating, follow me on my tumblr fiction-phan


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